Augusta Nationals Two Female Members - Essay Example

The Augusta National Golf Club has shown gender discrimination throughout its history by allowing none of its almost 300 members to be a woman until recently, when the Cub took an action long overdue on it by announcing Condoleezza Rice, the former US Secretary of State, and Darla Moore, the South Carolina financier to be its members. The Club was also publicly pressured by Martha Burk, the women’s rights activist in the year 2001 to allow membership to women, but Hootie Johnson, the chairman of the Club at that time said in response that the Club might alter its policy one day “but not at the point of a bayonet” (Johnson cited in Tyler).

When Bubba Watson joined the Augusta National Golf Club’s tradition of wearing the green jacket upon winning the Masters Golf Tournament, the celebrations were tarnished by the exclusive discrimination displayed by the Club towards the women. One of the lawyers said that the implications of this discrimination could be broader and extend to all working women. The Augusta National Golf Club has been disreputable for a long time in history because of its disallowance for women to become its members.

“The fathers and sons of Augusta know full well that they have built for themselves not just a golf course but one of the great corridors of power in America, and with chests fully puffed, have fiercely and proudly denied women access to those corridors” (Brennan).. In addition to that, all of the past IBM CEOs had served as the Club’s members. The only factor that differed this time was that the CEO was a woman unlike the past CEO members who were all men. Payne retreated the discussion and Rometty did not wear the green jacket to symbolize the club’s membership over the weekend.

David Scher, the Employment Law Group’s attorney expected the effects of the exclusive policy of the Augusta National Golf Club to reach all working women. He said, “This is not the only place that this is happening. Free association allows all kinds of clubs, but there are lots of men's organizations that keep women out of the workforce and it is really time for that to change” (Scher cited in Mielach). 21st century is the time for the discrimination to recede, be that against races or genders.

Discriminatory policies do not help any organization holding it, but just serves to complicate things for certain members of the society. “Playing golf and other pastimes is integral to the business world, and outright discrimination against women in the private golf world, although technically legal, can have a severe and lasting illegal impact in the workplace” (Scher cited in Mielach). Grant of the Augusta National Golf Club’s membership to two women in this year is a very big milestone in the way of realization of the equality of genders and will have far-reaching effects for all women in the society and bring a positive revolutionary change in the acceptability of women in the business world in general and the sports in particular.

Something like selection of women members for the first time since the establishment of a prestigious club will have an effect on the policies of similar